Trifolium macrocephalum |
Trifolium bejariense |
|
---|---|---|
big-head clover, large-head clover |
bejar clover |
|
Habit | Herbs perennial, 5–25 cm, villous. | Herbs annual, 5–25 cm, pilose. |
Stems | erect or ascending, branched. |
erect or ascending, branched. |
Leaves | palmate; stipules ovate, obovate, or oblong, 1–3 cm, margins entire, irregularly lobed, or serrate, apex acute or acuminate; petiole 1–14 cm; petiolules 0.9–1.2 mm; leaflets (5–)7–9, blades broadly to narrowly obovate, often folded, 1–2.7 × 0.4–1.1 cm, base cuneate, veins thickened, especially distally, margins serrulate, apex rounded or truncate, apiculate, surfaces villous abaxially, sparsely villous to glabrate adaxially. |
palmate; stipules oblong to ovate, 0.8–1 cm, margins slightly denticulate or entire, apex acute to acuminate; petiole 1–5 cm; petiolules to 1 mm; leaflets 3, blades obovate, 0.7–1.4 × 0.3–0.8 cm, base broadly cuneate, veins thickened, recurved, margins slightly denticulate, apex rounded or retuse, surfaces pubescent abaxially, glabrous adaxially. |
Inflorescences | terminal, 20–32-flowered, globose or ovoid-ellipsoid, 2.5–8 × 3–7 cm; involucres absent. |
axillary or terminal, 5–15-flowered, globose or subglobose, 1–2 × 1.5–2 cm; involucres floral bracts forming a small, scarious involucre. |
Peduncles | 2–8 cm. |
geniculate proximal to flowers, inflorescence appearing inverted, 2.5–11 cm. |
Pedicels | erect, 1–1.5 mm; bracteoles broadly ovate, membranous, to 0.5 mm, truncate. |
curved, 3–4 mm; bracteoles broadly rhombic, membranous, to 0.5 mm, margins dentate. |
Flowers | 20–30 mm; calyx campanulate, 10–22 mm, villous, veins 10–15, tube 2.5–4 mm, lobes subequal, subulate, plumose, orifice open; corolla white, creamy white, or pinkish, keel petals deep pink, 20–28 mm, banner ovate or oblong, 20–28 × 10–13 mm, apex rounded or slightly emarginate. |
7–9 mm; calyx campanulate, markedly bilabiate, venation strongly reticulate, 5–6 mm, sparsely pilose marginally, veins 5, reticulate in lobes, tube 0.7–1 mm, lobes unequal, abaxial 3 triangular-ovate, 2–3 mm, central abaxial lobe nearly linear, pubescent only along margins, adaxial 2 obovate, 5 mm, orifice open; corolla white, tinged with pink or lavender, darkening in age, 6–8 mm, banner broadly ovate, 6–8 × 5–6 mm, apex rounded, denticulate. |
Legumes | ovoid, 4–5 mm. |
oblong-ovoid, 3–4 mm. |
Seeds | 1 or 2, yellow or reddish, mitten-shaped to ellipsoid, 2.5–3 mm, smooth. |
2–6, yellow, globose to mitten-shaped, 1.1–1.6 mm, rugose. |
2n | = 32, 48. |
= 16. |
Trifolium macrocephalum |
Trifolium bejariense |
|
Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jun. | Flowering Mar–May. |
Habitat | Rocky places, hard, compacted clay-gumbo, lava beds, sage-covered slopes, full sun. | Sandy prairies, open woods. |
Elevation | 80–2500 m. (300–8200 ft.) | 0–100 m. (0–300 ft.) |
Distribution |
CA; ID; NV; OR; WA
|
AR; LA; TX |
Discussion | Trifolium macrocephalum has the largest inflorescences of any clover. Trifolium megacephalum Nuttall (1818) is an illegitimate replacement name for Lupinaster macrocephalum Pursh. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Trifolium bejariense ranges in east-central Texas from Hunt and Lamar counties in the north, southward to Fort Bend and Harris counties, and westward to Travis and Wilson counties; the species is also known from Acadia and Rapides parishes in Louisiana, and Nevada County in Arkansas. L. F. McDermott reduced Trifolium bejariense to T. carolinianum forma bejariense (Moricand) McDermott. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 11. | FNA vol. 11. |
Parent taxa | Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Trifolium | Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Trifolium |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Lupinaster macrocephalum | T. macrocalyx |
Name authority | (Pursh) Poiret in J. Lamarck et al.: Encycl., suppl. 5: 336. (1817) | Moricand: Pl. Nouv. Amér., 2, plate 2. (1834) |
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